By Parker Anderson
Broadcast radio over the airwaves began in the 1920s in various parts of the nation. By 1929 Arizona had four radio stations---two in Phoenix and two in Tucson. That same year, the state’s fifth radio station went on the air from Prescott, becoming that town’s first broadcasting station. KPJM was operated by the Prescott Arizona Journal Miner newspaper, hence its call letters. It was one of many renamings of the original Arizona Miner newspaper that had existed since 1864. Its success was waning at this time and the newspaper would end in 1934.
It took Arizona businessman Albert Stetson to bring radio back to Prescott. Mr. Stetson was already known in town for having opened the Studio Theatre for movies in 1933, as well as owning other movie houses in the state. Branching out into radio, Stetson launched KYCA on Sunday, August 25, 1940. He appointed himself President and General Manager of the station. KYCA was licensed to broadcast on a frequency of 1500 kilocycles, with a power output of 250 watts. The call letters stood for Yavapai County, Arizona.
Albert Stetson made sure the KYCA inaugural broadcast was a big deal in Prescott. The station signed on at 6:00 a.m. and stayed on until midnight that night. The first broadcast was launched from the old Governor’s Mansion, which Sharlot M. Hall had turned into a museum. Arizona Governor Robert T. Jones spoke, and three previous Governors—Thomas Campbell, Rawghlie C. Stanford and John C. Phillips—were also present and spoke on the air. Sharlot Hall herself spoke as well.
The atmosphere was festive. The Prescott Courier reported that practically every club and civic group in Northern Arizona had sent representatives. Music and celebration were the order of the day. Chamber of Commerce representative Grace Sparkes oversaw a section devoted to Yavapai County itself.
Following this initial broadcast, KYCA immediately moved to its station, at what is today 1225 East Gurley Street, where the Rodeway Inn is located now.
The years went on. Eventually KTAR in Phoenix purchased KYCA in 1944 and ultimately moved it to its current location on Henry Street.
George H. Williamson was a prominent UFO “guru” in the 1950s, claiming from Prescott that he was able to “channel” space aliens. He received quite a bit of attention for this. But he apparently also had a side job as an announcer for KYCA, as evidenced by a photo found at Sharlot Hall Museum showing him standing in front of a KYCA microphone at the station.
Prescott businessman Lou Silverstein bought KYCA in 1970. During the decade, it was first an ABC affiliate, then switching to CBS in 1976. In 1980 Silverstein opened KAHM, Prescott’s first FM station. Silverstein owned KYCA until his death in 2017, when it was purchased by Phoenix Radio Broadcasting and is currently owned by Jason Zinzileta.
KYCA had slowly begun transitioning to talk radio in the 1980s and remains so today, with an array of national conservative political talk shows and a variety of local talk shows on Prescott issues. As Prescott’s oldest radio station, KYCA has served Prescott for 85 years. It is heard on 1490 AM with a FM translator at 103.5 FM.
Readers’ theater is a uniquely entertaining, live performance that is presented much like an old time radio show. On December 7th, join us for this special museum event, a readers’ theater production of A Prescott Christmas Carol at Sharlot Hall Museum’s Education Center Auditorium. Featuring audience participation and local characters, performance times are 5:30 PM and 7PM. Tickets are now available; see the “Events” page on the Sharlot Hall Museum website for more information at: sharlothallmuseum.org/event/a-frontier-christmas-carol/
“Days Past” is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International (www.prescottcorral.org). This and other Days Past articles are also available at www.archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1. The public is encouraged to submit proposed articles and inquiries to dayspast@sharlothallmuseum.org Please contact SHM Research Center reference desk at 928-277-2003, or via email at archivesrequest@sharlothallmuseum.org for information or assistance with photo requests.